Posted by wxii12.com news at 8/29/2007 1:18 PM
By WXII 12 Weather Plus meteorologist Michelle Kennedy:
Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm on Aug. 29, 2005 at 7:10 a.m. just south of Buras, Louisiana. 1,836 people died from Louisiana to Alabama and Mississippi. When it comes to property damage, this is the most destructive hurricane ever to make landfall along the United States coastline. To date, our deadliest storm was Hurricane Galveston in 1900. More than 6,000 to 12,000 people were killed as Galveston’s coast was washed away in the storm surge.
That morning meteorologist Brian Slocum saw Katrina blowing up in size nearly covering the entire Gulf of Mexico with clouds and outer rainbands. The storm had become a monster, but Brian wasn’t convinced the weather computers were telling an accurate story. He rebooted all of the weather programs to make sure what he was seeing was reality. Unfortunately, the data we were receiving was correct. The hurricane had in a matter of hours grown to a Category 5 storm with winds of 175 miles per hour.
The storm dropped two categories, but the devastation was astounding. What followed was a disastrous few days that turned into weeks for people in Mississippi and Louisiana. When the levee system failed in New Orleans, the flooding shutdown the city and stranded its residents.
I was away in New York City during Katrina’s landfall. In the diners and on the subways, people were talking about the hurricane and all of those people begging for help. Many individuals across the country decided if the government wasn’t acting quickly, then they would bring aid to Katrina victims anyway possible.
One of those generous people was Robert Nickell of Stokes County. He and his wife rented a truck and loaded up supplies of water, canned goods and basic necessities. They decided to help people in Mississippi who were also waiting for days for help. They arrived at the distribution point after being waved off with guns and finally receiving an escort from U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents. Nickell said they’ve never witnessed the kind of desperation and chaos like the victims of Hurricane Katrina endured.
Please take a look at the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration website for links to satellite images of Katrina and photos of the aftermath. The site is:
http://www.katrina.noaa.gov/
